TAPS is a survivor-run group that helps victims of sex trafficking to break free. You can reach us at https://www.facebook.com/TraffickingandProstitutionServicesOnline/ We also help family members and other loves ones to "retrieve" someone they feel is either trapped into sex work. If you are a parent - you can get help at www.swanfellowship.webs.com. This is the author's personal opinion and since written in the USA is protected under rights of free speech.

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Monday, February 22, 2016

LIES OF THE SEX INDUSTRY - STRIP OR SCREW YOUR WAY TO COLLEGE

Belle Knox has become the "poster child" of the "do porn to pay for college" movement. However, at no time during any of her interviews did she bring up there are other ways to pay for college besides doing porn, stripping, or actual prostitution.

In fact, Dennis Hof and the strip clubs have now picked up this advertising call saying they will "match your income to pay for college". Of course leaving off the fact the average length of employment with any one club or brothel is less than four months. Meaning you would pay for what - an hour of your semester?

This one company we've worked with is a reputable company where I've personally stayed in touch with their employees as they've gone to other countries, done the tutoring gig, got to see the country, and have returned safely to America with no problems. If you are not working, or on disability, they pay your tuition for the school to teach you how to teach English - thus meaning everything can be paid for.

Meaning that right now, you can be put onto a track where in six months you will be certified to teach English in another country of your choice, including a country like Germany. You will then further have your travel and lodging expenses paid to travel to this other country of your choice - some of which will also offer you free college. Even medical school by the way.

Our program, www.sexworkersanonymous.com has had members who have gone to medical school in other countries, then returned here to become doctors. There are special classifications where you can start doing medical work here in the USA right away, or tests you can take to get the American license to practice medicine.

We have been hearing all the marketing lies of the sex industry no different than the tobacco industry tried to push on us that "tobacco was not addictive" and "tobacco doesn't cause cancer", etc. Until the truth came out about how many chemicals they were putting in the tobacco to make it more addictive, and harmful, to the consumer. Lies which include "I can't get a job because of my criminal record" and "I can't go to college because it's too expensive". There are also ways to earn up to 60 college credits by examination - without attending one class - right here in the USA. Some colleges like MIT are even offering a full course of classes for free online which can earn you a degree depending on what you want to study. While you can't get a medical degree free online in America - there are ways to get other types in subjects such as math, electronics, science, etc. There are even programming classes one can take for free online and we have one member I'm aware of who is making $75 an hour working from home doing computer programming. This is a woman who never went past the 8th grade in school because she was sold at a young age.

Have you ever tried talking to an addict or alcoholic about why they drink and/or use? It's a whole long list of excuses. The same can go for someone in the sex industry. Those excuses include "I have a criminal record and can't get a job" and "college is so expensive I don't know how else I'd pay for it". Our program has helped many a member with a criminal record not only find work, but even start-up capital to open up their own business. There is a foundation in NY to name one that gives money to felons to open up their own company because they found they often make the best business entrepreneurs. I've also seen quite a few different ways to pay for college without resorting to the sex industry or even leaving the country. We have worked with one major corporation that was providing our new members with housing, jobs, medical insurance and also tuition assistance until they came under new ownership a few years ago down in Florida.

I don't publish these lists because they aren't exactly great advertising for the company "hey we hire ex-hookers" or "we hire ex-porn performers" doesn't sell family vacations that easily. I also don't publish them because I dig them out on my own time. I go out and I talk to employers and I make arrangements to get our members hired so why would I publish that list for another nonprofit or NGO to come in and make it appear they made this hook-up? Besides, I know fairly well that when we place an employee with a company that person is truly desiring to never return to sex work again. Not that they will hire them on our word, and then they find that person turning tricks in the back stock room or south parking lot. They know we're placing people with them who are truly serious about never returning to sex work - and they do this to assist survivors with being able to move on to new lives.

Which by the way I've found it quite interesting that some companies who are loudly proclaiming they're offering scholarships aren't exactly being very honest. I've been checking out some of these press releases about "we're offering scholarships to trafficking victims" and it seems some have a few conditions. One for example said they would only pay for the scholarship IF the student was to go to school on-campus - not in the online course work. Not considering most survivors I'm aware of have severe PTSD in recovery, and most want to attend school from home, also because of things like child care issues, and lack of a car, or disability, I found it interesting they would only pay for the scholarship if the student were to physically attend classes on campus. Now I don't know about you - but I don't know of many survivors who are living in that small southern town that this one school was in offering the scholarship. If you ask me - they wanted an ex-hooker on their campus to entice male students to attend. That's just my perception of the offer when I started investigating further.

I say that because it's well known that many companies will advertise they will work with felons with records so they can abuse them. Take a look at Walmart or McDonald's for example. They are quite open they will hire anyone with a felony record. However, they also shave off hours off your time card, and they have also forced workers to work "off the clock" to save said job. They are known for also keeping employees part-time so as not to pay benefits. Who else would put up with this but felons who can't get work elsewhere? So I don't consider all offers to "survivors" as altruistic until I've investigated further.

I mean I know a lot of men who will offer a woman "free rent" but it's not so free if you know what I mean. That's what happened to the original "Destiny House" in Las Vegas that was supposed to have opened with Annie Lobert. Seems an elderly gentlemen had offered to donate a house to them on the provision he had a "hands on" relationship with the women in residence. Once he was told that wasn't cool - he pulled back the house offer. This put them back at square one to have to find another house. I give them credit for not giving in to that pressure.

I've spoken to another company who has been marketing the message loudly they offer scholarships to trafficking victims if they would hire someone who still has their porn online. The modern trafficker is obtaining porn as soon as possible in the relationship to block the person from leaving the industry. I point you to Christy Mack who after a horribly violent attack said she would "not be leaving the porn industry". I pointed out "could she?" I in fact started contacting large companies who are offering scholarships to trafficking survivors and asked them flat out "would you hire Christy Mack?" I got a lot of hmming and hawing - so the answer was clearly "no".

Our program has over 190,000 members in it's active database at this moment. Our blog has over 50,000 subscribers on an average day, with about 200 views per day hitting just the blogs. We have been operating since 1987. Sex Workers Anonymous has chapters in the USA, Canada, Costa Rico, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Amsterdam, France, England, and a chapter in the process of forming in Mexico once we finish the Spanish translation of our "Recovery Guide".

Meaning we are the world's oldest and largest group of survivors. Our hotline I've answered since 1987 has clocked about 500,000 calls from victims directly. I've worked with those transitioning out of sex work since 1984 overall all over this country, and other countries, both male, female and transgender. If you check clips I have up at www.hightechmadam.com which can be verified are real through the newspapers themselves - you'll see by the dates I was not only the first person in this country to put together a "safe house" for trafficking victims in Los Angeles in 1984, but I was also the first person to launch a hotline for adult victims to call for help AND I was the first person to approach our legal system asking that they consider some of us as "victims" needing help, not criminals, and the first person speaking out the mental health field needed to accept our reality in order to provide us with proper treatment, i.e., making me the founder of this very modern trafficking movement itself.

In other words, I am like the Bill Wilson of the alcoholism movement for the subject of trafficking. However, I don't know anyone on this advisory board - nor have we been consulted in any way about this board. Frankly, I think this creates an "unfair competition" in this field and I am speaking with attorney's and law professors now about pursuing legal action about it.

So it kind of reminds me of when those who wanted to open drug treatment centers above Jimmy Kinnon's objections (the founder of Narcotics Anonymous) that they "didn't work" - some people went in and illegally voted him off the board of NA and then went and did what they wanted. From what I've seen of these drug programs' success rate - Jimmy wasn't wrong either. I mean I ask you what "survivor advisory board" is it that (1) doesn't have the founder of the movement that made them possible, and (2) hasn't asked for anyone on the oldest, and largest, program of survivors to be a part of it? It's like an advisory board on alcoholism that doesn't acknowledge Bill Wilson, nor has one member of AA on it.

It might be why we're not hearing about real solutions and truths to dispel the myths coming out of them. http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/college-students-strip-pay-tuition-costs/story?id=23782754I would also like to point out that ABC is now plugging "strip to pay for college" quite loudly, among other large major media outlets, while groups like ours with our voices saying "there are other ways" and also pointing out that very few women are succeeding in meeting the goals offered by the clubs and brothels (such as most don't work for the club long enough to make any substantial headway in paying for tuition) are being silenced. In fact, the news about "free college in Germany" came from a tiny newsletter that we get. This means the media has become a "marketer" of propaganda for the sex industry since the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1995.

This very movement itself would not be possible if not that from 1987 to 1995 - I was able to produce a weekly show with "recovery stories" (remember we didn't coin the term "trafficking" until the year 2000) which aired on public access in Los Angeles for free. Interns would do the filming, sound, editing, etc. for us in return for resume credit. Then we would duplicate this tape, and send it on to other cities like San Francisco, New York, Miami, Chicago, etc. Those stations we sent the tapes to were required to air them as part of their community service. So the Trafficking Act of 2000 would not have happened if not for THIRTEEN YEARS of our stories going out over air waves that we're now finding our voices blocked from.

I say that because also before this Act passed - media was required to air "opposing viewpoints" meaning when Joe Conforte, the owner of the Mustang Ranch legal brothel, went on TV - he would not do so without a counter or opposing view also airing. I found a tape by the way of a show I did debating him (and winning as brothels were not made legal in California that year) in an archive that should be digitized and online in a few more weeks.

This is what Noam Chomsky refers to as "manufacturing consent" right in front of your eyes. Silencing your opposers does not mean you don't have opposition.

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About Me

I've been helping men and women leave the sex industry since 1987. Some were forced - some were not. Some thought they weren't and with time realized they were. Some thought they were and with time realized they weren't. Which is why I just focus on this - if you want help to leave any part of the sex industry for any reason - just get in touch. I run Sex Workers Anonymous, Trafficking & Prostitution Services, as well as the American Trafficking Institute. I produce www.blogtalkradio.com/stopsextrafficktalk, and the magazine "Sanity Today". I also help investigators and the authorities with sex trafficking cases, and families help their loved ones leave the streets. Currently I'm organizing www.boycottsnoop.com to demand an acknowledgment of the damage that was done to women during his 2003 tour and www.pimpalert.com to help caught pimps who are dangerous and on the streets. Our book on the history of this field "Anatomy of a Movement" is almost done.